How Earthworms Enrich Your Garden Soil and Benefit Your Plants
What do earthworms do in your garden soil?
Are earthworms decomposers or producers?
Why are earthworms important in soils?
Which of the following is Rosa most likely trying to do by placing earthworms in her garden?
Answer:
Earthworms enrich the soil with nutrients and are decomposers.
Explanation:
Rosa places earthworms in her vegetable garden to enrich the soil with nutrients. Earthworms play a crucial role in improving soil quality and promoting plant growth. They are decomposers, which means they break down organic matter and release essential nutrients into the soil.
Why are earthworms important in soils?
- Enhanced nutritional availability: Earthworms eat on plant debris such as dead roots, leaves, grasses, manure, and dirt. Their digestive system focuses on the organic and mineral components of the food they consume. As a result, their wastes are more nutrient-dense than the soil.
- Drainage improvement: Earthworms loosen the soil and improve the drainage system. Earthworm-infested soils can drain water up to ten times faster than soils without earthworms. Under the effect of rain, irrigation, gravity, lime, and other materials, earthworms dig tunnels in the soil that serve as a pathway.
- Earthworms bind sticky soil particles together in water-stable aggregates, improving soil structure. These also aid in the storage of moisture.
- Increased production: Earthworms improve productivity by 70-80% after a short period of time.
Thus, we can conclude that Rosa is most likely trying to enrich the soil with nutrients by placing earthworms in her garden.